The Importance of Classroom Decoration - MA

If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn. 

Dr. Reinisch cites a study of 25 first-graders whose classroom was revamped over a period of four months to include appealing elements such as comfortable reading spaces, fish, plants and displays of student artwork. The children’s reactions were recorded through interviews, student journals and observations. The first-graders expressed ownership and pride at their artwork being included in the classroom decor, and their journals, comments and drawings expressed appreciation for the aesthetic additions to their environment. 

How important is a comfortable classroom?

Of the elements teachers might consider adding to their classrooms, which ones are the most important to student success?  Reinisch notes another study in which 775 students identified “comfort” as “most necessary” in their classroom.  The students, who ranged from fourth to eighth grade, also correlated the following elements to a good learning environment:

• A clean classroom
• Artwork and wall decorations
• A classroom pet

Let’s look at each of these in a bit more detail:

Clean classrooms

Because children have an almost infinite capacity for making messes and spreading germs, it’s incumbent on teachers to tackle cleanliness issues head-on. A few things to keep in mind:

• Spills should be reported to the maintenance staff immediately to prevent mold and bacteria from taking on a life of their own.
• Kids should be schooled in sanitation, washing their hands after potty breaks, using hand sanitizer and avoiding hand-to-hand contact when they have colds and the flu.
• Never let your own work pile up and clutter your desk or any areas of the classroom. Clutter makes it that much harder to get through your lessons efficiently.
• Always tidy up before you leave for the day.

Artwork and wall decorations

Decorating school walls with children’s artwork is as old as school itself. Suggestions for classroom art:

• With an eye toward keeping the room clean, save the glue, scissors and glitter for special occasions and make sure you account for the time required to get the room back in order before the end of the school day. Kids can work wonders with a few crayons and pencils.
• The Internet has become a vast trove of ideas for classroom art projects. The image-sharing site Pinterest is a particularly rich resource.
• Because there are no limits on what you can do with art in your classroom, it’s easier on your brain to keep it simple: connect artwork to lessons, current events, holidays and such.